Cartons with separable sections

ABSTRACT

Carton blanks and cartons having a tear strip dispensing feature defined thereon are described herein. The tear strip dispensing feature allows a first portion of the carton to be removed from a second portion of the carton. The first portion of the carton includes a carrying handle allowing the first portion to function as a smaller, standalone carton. The second portion of the carton is operative to function as a dispensing tray. Both the first portion and the second portion of the carton may fit into a relatively small space, such as, for example, the space between shelves in a refrigerator.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an enclosed paperboard carton capable of enclosing containers. The carton has a unique opening and dispensing feature that allows the containers, for example, cans or bottles, to be removed or dispensed without destroying the overall structural integrity of the carton. The dispensing feature allows for half or another sized portion of the carton to be removed and carried while supporting and carrying a portion of the containers. The other portion of the carton forms a dispensing and carrying tray for carrying and accessing the other portion of the containers. This dispensing feature permits the carton to be divided such that only a portion of the carton be refrigerated, such that the divided carton is easily fit into a relatively small space such as between shelves in a refrigerator, and other benefits.

BACKGROUND

Fully enclosed carton capable of enclosing cans have been used in the past that have a feature for dispensing the cans one at a time. Dispenser sections have been provided at various locations within these cartons depending on the design. Many of these dispensers suffer from the disadvantage that once open, a structural integrity of the carton is compromised. In addition, it is difficult to carry one of these cartons without the containers falling out once the dispenser has been opened. Furthermore, these cartons are often difficult to fit into relatively small spaces, such as the space between shelves in a refrigerator.

In effect, many of these dispensers destroy the overall carton integrity once they have been opened. Many of these dispensing features do not have any means for allowing a portion of the carton to remain intact while a second portion is accessible to dispense containers.

The disclosure made herein is presented with respect to these and other considerations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an exterior surface of a blank used to form a carton, according to one configuration disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an exterior surface of an insert blank used to form an interior supportive panel of the carton formed from the blank of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial view of an interior surface of the blank of FIG. 1, showing handle features used to form a carrying handle.

FIG. 4 is a view of a carton sleeve formed by adhering portions of two top panels of the blank of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the interior of a carton sleeve formed by adhering the insert blank of FIG. 2 onto interior surfaces of two side panels of the sleeve of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a view of a portion of the interior of the carton sleeve of FIG. 6, having one end flap closed to partially define an interior of a carton.

FIG. 9 is a view of an end of the carton sleeve of FIG. 6 having all end flaps closed to partially define an interior of a carton.

FIG. 10 is a view of an end a carton formed from the carton sleeve of FIG. 6.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the carton formed from the carton sleeve of FIG. 6.

FIG. 12 is an alternate perspective view of the carton of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a top-down view of the carton of FIG. 11, showing two upper dispensing features for accessing the interior of an upper portion of the carton.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the carton of FIG. 11, showing both a tear strip dispensing feature for separating the bottom portion of the carton from the upper portion of the carton, and the upper dispensing feature.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the carton of FIG. 11, showing the tearing of the tear strip dispensing feature to begin to separate the upper portion from the bottom portion of the carton.

FIG. 16 is a top-down view of the carton of FIG. 11, showing the tearing of the tear strip dispensing feature to begin to separate the upper portion from the bottom portion of the carton.

FIG. 17 is a view of the bottom portion of the carton of FIG. 11, showing a container within the interior of the bottom portion of the carton.

FIG. 18 is a view of both the upper portion and the bottom portion of the carton of FIG. 11.

FIG. 19 is an alternative view of both the upper portion and the bottom portion of the carton of FIG. 11, showing the insert blank of FIG. 2 adhered to the lower section of the upper portion, thereby effectively forming a lower interior panel for enclosing the interior of the upper portion and functioning to allow the upper portion to function as a smaller standalone carton.

FIG. 20 is an alterative view of the upper portion of the carton of FIG. 11, showing a portion of the upper dispensing feature being torn to access the interior of the upper portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and that show, by way of illustration, specific configurations or examples. The drawings herein are not drawn to scale. Like numerals represent like elements throughout the several figures (which may be referred to herein as a “FIG.” or “FIGS.”).

The present disclosure generally relates to various features for cartons or carriers that contain articles such as containers, bottles, cans, etc. The articles can be used for packaging food and beverage products, for example. The articles can be made from materials suitable in composition for packaging the particular food or beverage item, and the materials include, but are not limited to, aluminum and/or other metals; glass; plastics such as PET, PEF, LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, PVC, EVOH, and Nylon; and the like, or any combination thereof.

Cartons or carriers according to the present disclosure can accommodate articles of any shape. For the purpose of illustration and not for the purpose of limiting the scope of the disclosure, the following detailed description describes beverage containers (e.g., aluminum beverage cans) as disposed within the carrier embodiments. In this specification, the terms “lower,” “bottom,” “upper” and “top” indicate orientations determined in relation to fully erected and upright cartons.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an exterior surface 2 of a blank 3, used to form a carton 5 (FIG. 11) according to one configuration disclosed herein. The carton 5 can be used to house a plurality of articles such as containers C (FIG. 17). In the illustrated embodiment, the containers C are beverage cans and the carton 5 is sized to house twenty-four containers in a double layer in a 4×3 arrangement. But, it is understood that the carton 5 may be sized and shaped to hold containers C of a different or same quantity in more than one layer and/or in different row/column arrangements. In the illustrated embodiment, the carton 5 is a carrier having generally closed ends 6, 8 (FIGS. 11 and 12) that encloses the containers C. The carton 5 could be otherwise shaped and arranged such the ends 6, 8 are at least partially closed such as by end flaps or other closing mechanisms.

The blank 3 has a longitudinal axis L1 and a lateral axis L2. As illustrated, the blank 3 comprises a first top panel 10 foldably connected to a first side panel 20 at a first lateral fold line 21, a bottom panel 30 foldably connected to the first side panel 20 at a second lateral fold line 31, a second side panel 40 foldably connected to the bottom panel 30 at a third lateral fold line 41, and a second top panel 50 foldably connected to the second side panel 40 at a fourth lateral fold line 51. The first top panel includes a first dispenser section defined by tear lines. The second top panel includes a second dispenser section defined by tear lines. The first side panel includes tear strip dispenser feature formed thereon by two relatively parallel tear lines. The second side panel includes a tear strip dispenser feature formed thereon by two relatively parallel tear lines.

The blank 200 of FIG. 2 is for an insert and includes four adhesive flaps and a central panel. The four adhesive flaps are operative to adhere to interior surfaces of the first and second side panels of the blank 3. The central panel then serves as an interior bottom panel partially defining an interior of the upper portion (FIGS. 6 and 19).

A carton sleeve is formed by folding handle features over (FIG. 3) and adhering a portion of the first top panel to a portion of the second top panel (FIG. 4). The blank 200 may then be adhered to the interior of the carton sleeve (FIG. 6). Upon forming the carton sleeve, end flaps may be folded and secured to fully or partially enclose the carton 5 (FIG. 11).

The tear strip dispenser features may be torn away from the first and second side panels (FIGS. 15, 16, and 17). Upon tearing the tear strip dispensing features from the carton, an upper portion is separated from the bottom portion (FIG. 18). The upper portion can function as a standalone carton having the upper dispenser sections while the lower portion can function as a dispensing tray supporting the containers C.

Both of the upper and lower portions may fit into relatively small spaces, such as, for example, the space between shelves in a refrigerator. According to one implementation, the upper portion is roughly equal in size to the lower portion. According to one implementation, the upper portion and the lower portion are configured to carry the same number of containers in a 4X3 configuration. According to other implementations, the upper portion and the lower portion are configured to carry different sizes or numbers of containers. According to one implementation, the upper portion and the lower portion are configured to carry different branded products. According to one configuration, the upper portion and the lower portion are configured to carry distinct beverage products. For example, the upper portion may be configured to carry non-alcoholic ready to drink beverages while the bottom portion may be configured to carry alcoholic beverages. The converse may also be true, where non-alcoholic ready to drink beverages are carried in the lower portion while alcoholic beverages are carried in the upper portion. Other modifications are also apparent.

Additionally, it should be appreciated that although illustrated as having only an upper portion and a lower portion, the same may be easily modified to include more or fewer portions by adding additional tear strips in the blank of FIG. 1. For example, three or more distinct interior spaces separable by tear strips can be included. Each interior space may include another blank such as the interior blank from FIG. 2 to enclose each space. Other modifications are also apparent.

Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that technologies for carton blanks, cartons, and other aspects have been presented herein. Moreover, although the subject matter presented herein has been described in language specific to a particular method of forming a carton, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features, acts, or media described herein. Rather, the specific features, acts, and media are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. Various modifications and changes may be made to the subject matter described herein without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims. 

1. A carton for carrying a plurality of articles, comprising: a top panel; a side panel foldably connected to the top panel at a first line of weakening; a tear strip defined in the side panel by two relatively parallel score lines, tear lines, or lines of weakening; and a bottom panel foldably connected to the side panel at a second line of weakening; wherein, the tear strip is configured to fully separate the top panel from the bottom panel are the two score lines.
 2. A blank for forming a carton of claim
 1. 3. The carton of claim 1 wherein an upper portion is separable from a lower portion.
 4. The carton of claim 1 further comprising an interior blank adhered thereto, the interior blank comprising a central panel and adhesive flaps, and the interior blank being positioned proximal to tear strips defined in side panels of the carton, the tear strips functional to separate the carton into two portions, a first portion having a bottom panel defined by the interior blank.
 5. The carton of claim 3 wherein the interior blank divides an interior of the carton into two roughly equal interior spaces for carrying a plurality of containers separately.
 6. The carton of claim 4, wherein the carton is configured to form a carrier for containers upon removal of the tear strips.
 7. The carton of claim 4, wherein the carton is configured to form a sub-carton upon removal of the tear strips.
 8. The carton of claim 4, wherein the carton is configured to form a tray carrier for supporting and dispensing containers, the tray carrier being formed from a bottom portion of a carton.
 9. The carton of claim 4, wherein the carton is configured to form a carton with carrying handles and dispenser sections, the carton being formed from an upper portion of a larger carton.
 10. The carton of claim 4, wherein the carton is configured to form a carton for carrying two different types of containers, the carton having two distinct interior spaces separated by an interior blank and central panel, each distinct interior space for carrying one of the different types of containers.
 11. The carton of claim 4, wherein the carton is configured to form a carton for carrying two different brands of beverage products, the carton having two distinct interior spaces defined therein, each distinct interior space for carrying one of the different brands of beverage products.
 12. (canceled) 